3 million smart toothbrushes were infected with malware

[searcher]

3 million smart toothbrushes were just used in a DDoS attack. Really​

It sounds more like science fiction than reality, but Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung reports that approximately three million smart toothbrushes were hijacked by hackers to launch a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. These innocuous bathroom gadgets -- transformed into soldiers in a botnet army -- knocked out a Swiss company for several hours, costing millions of euros in damages.

No, we're not kidding.

More:

3 million smart toothbrushes were just used in a DDoS attack. Really | ZDNET

 

[Goldhedge]

Who has a toothbrush connected to the inet?

I have a Sonic and it isn't connected to anything but wall electricity. No bluetooth at all.

 

[foolsgold]

I have a Pepsodent toothbrush connected to a glass.

 

[pmbug]

I didn't believe it, but after a quick search, I found this $200 "smart" toothbrush:

...
Connect your brush to the Sonicare app for coaching and progress reports to keep you on track and see how you improve over time.
...

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart Electric Toothbrush | Philips

 

[Joe King]

Who has a toothbrush connected to the inet?

Idiots, mostly.


Remember back in the old days when everyone laughed at the idea of a 'net connected fridge?

Now moast of them same people rush out to buy one. Lol

 

[searcher]

No, 3 million electric toothbrushes were not used in a DDoS attack​

A widely reported story that 3 million electric toothbrushes were hacked with malware to conduct distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks is likely a hypothetical scenario instead of an actual attack.

Last week, Swiss news site Aargauer Zeitung published a story stating that an employee of cybersecurity firm Fortinet said 3 million electric toothbrushes had been infected with Java malware to conduct DDoS attacks against a Swiss company.

"The electric toothbrush is programmed with Java, and criminals have unnoticed installed malware on it - like on 3 million other toothbrushes," reads the article.

"One command is enough and the remote-controlled toothbrushes simultaneously access the website of a Swiss company. The site collapses and is paralyzed for four hours. Millions of dollars in damage is caused."

The story is dramatic and definitely newsworthy, if accurate, and began sweeping through other technology news sites yesterday, with numerous publications covering the alleged attack without verifying the story.

More:

No, 3 million electric toothbrushes were not used in a DDoS attack

 

[Goldhedge]

Is this is a hypothetical thread then...?

 

[pmbug]

The article referenced in the OP has been updated to reflect that the DDOS attack claim was a hypothetical:

... the security company Fortinet, which helped give the original story credence, is admitting that mistakes were made.

In a note to ZDNET, a Fortinet representative said, "To clarify, the topic of toothbrushes being used for DDoS attacks was presented during an interview as an illustration of a given type of attack, and it is not based on research from Fortinet or FortiGuard Labs. It appears ... the narrative on this topic has been stretched to the point where hypothetical and actual scenarios are blurred."
...

I edited the thread title for accuracy.

 

[searcher]

Not to self: From now on when you post stuff like this place a disclaimer at the top of the first post that reads *Do not take this too seriously.

 

[pmbug]

You posted it in "Digital OpSec" instead of "Fun Stuff" (which is fine, but don't complain if folks consider the topic as serious in this node versus the other).

 

[searcher]

You posted it in "Digital OpSec" instead of "Fun Stuff" (which is fine, but don't complain if folks consider the topic as serious in this node versus the other).

Not complaining at all.